


There's No Time For Toeing Waters

by demonsonthemoon



Series: Sunstone [1]
Category: Vikings (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Rock Band, Athelstan doesn't know what he's signing up for, Athelstan: is scared, Everyone: is scary, F/M, First Meetings, Floki is mildly pyromanic, the author attempts to describe music but is mostly making things up as ze goes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-06
Updated: 2017-02-06
Packaged: 2018-09-22 11:06:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,578
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9605225
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/demonsonthemoon/pseuds/demonsonthemoon
Summary: Athelstan liked his routine. He was perfectly happy going to university, spending most of his time studying, and staying in his comfort zone.Until his comfort zone almost got set on fire and a bunch of weird people tried to buy his silence with coffee (kind of).





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [anastasiapullingteeth](https://archiveofourown.org/users/anastasiapullingteeth/gifts).



> The original idea for this fic was coined by Caro A.K.A. anastasiapullingteeth. I started screaming to her about it a few years ago, and it stayed in the back of my mind all this time without ever getting set to paper.  
> Now it's set, or at least part of the story is.
> 
> Happy birthday Caro!

The question they always ask in interviews is this : How did you all meet ?

For most of them, the answer is obvious. It was Ragnar who decided to put the band together, and it seemed logical to bring in his brother Rollo and his childhood friend Floki. Then, when he started dating Lagertha and it appeared that she had the voice of a murderous goddess, it had also made perfect sense to have her join the whole thing.

Athelstan was the enigma of the group.

The first time someone asked, he replied that he had been trying to stop Floki from burning down a library. The interviewer had laughed and passed it off as a joke in her article.

Since then, all of the group members have been giving completely different and ridiculous answers.

Nobody ever realised that that first time, Athelstan had been completely honest.

It happened like this :

 

Athelstan enjoyed spending time in the library. Yes, even his free time. And if that made him the perfect stereotype of a student majoring in History with a minor in Theology, well... He had accepted his fate long ago. He even had his favorite corner, one hidden away in the far end of the Theology section. It was almost always empty, except the weeks right before exams, but then Athelstan just studied at home anyway. The library didn't feel like his if there were too many people around.

He was doing some assigned reading for his class on Jewish mythology when a strange smell made him look up from his book. Was that... smoke ?

He carefully marked his page and stood up, taking a turn at the end of the aisle to see where the smell was coming from.

He stopped dead in his tracks.

There was someone there talking on the phone – Athelstan quickly turned off his iPod, which he just realised was preventing him from actually hearing the person talking – and that person also had a burning stack of paper in their hand.

« Yup, it's done. ... No, I'm actually... Yes, I know, I _can_ actually be careful from time to... »

« What are you doing ? » Athelstan didn't think before he asked the question, but he wished he had, because this was clearly some kind of lunatic, and what if he got the flames too close to the books, the whole library could burn down, he had to do something he-

« Oh, shit. Call you back. »

The pyromaniac turned off their phone, looking Athelstan up and down. The sheets of paper were still burning, almost reaching their hand.

« Hello, » they said, voice calm and elegant.

« Um. You're... You're gonna burn yourself. »

« Oh. » Athelstan watched as the person distractedly threw what was left of the burning papers in a metal bin. When they looked up and crossed his eyes, he desperately thought that he should say something, though he had no idea what.

The stranger's phone started ringing. They sighed and picked it up, rolling their eyes. « It's done, Ragnar, OK ? Calm the fuck down ! ... I'm in the Theology section. It doesn't have a fire alarm. ... I can't. I ran into someone. ... Nooooo. We're just gonna have a little chat. » They grinned at that, and a cold sweat started running down Athelstan's back. He slowly took a step away from the stranger, without even realising. « Yeah, see you. » They locked their phone again and put it in their pocket. The smile they turned towards Athelstan was predatory, and the eyeliner around their eyes only highlighted the weird glint that was in them.

« Um, » Athelstan started. He had no idea what was happening. This was the Theology library. Shit like this wasn't supposed to happen here. « I didn't see anything ? And I'm not gonna tell anybody about it ? »

The stranger started giggling, which did nothing to reassure Athelstan. « Oh my god, you're about to pee your pants, aren't you ? »

« Um... No ? » Athelstan replied, failing to muster up any kind of dignity.

Their mouth twisted up in a feral grin. « Yeah, sure. »

Athelstan managed to get an ounce of composure back, just enough to ask. « What were you doing ? »

« I thought you hadn't seen anything ? » the other responded with a raised eyebrow.

Athelstan bit down on his lower lip, trying to judge what his options were, here. He really didn't want to piss off someone who was used to burning stuff in the middle of a library.

He was saved from the dilemna of finding an appropriate answer when a blond woman appeared behind the stranger.

« Floki ! Leave this poor kid alone, he's gonna pee his pants ! »

« I'm really not, » Athelstan managed to grumble as the first stranger – Floki – errupted into giggles again.

The woman rolled her eyes at them as she came closer and extended a hand towards Athelstan. « I'm Lagertha, » she said. « Sorry about all of this. »

Athelstan said his name as he carefully shaked her hand, still unsure of what exactly was going on and how his life had managed to deviate so drastically from its usual routine.

« Um. It's okay? I'm still not sure what's going on, though. »

Floki smirked. Lagertha shaked her head, then smiled at him. Athelstan feared that it was pity he could see in her eyes.

« It's complicated. It involves my boyfriend Ragnar and getting rid of evidence, and a whole lot of shit you probably don't want to get involved in. Trust me, I'm telling you this for your own good. »

If Athelstan had been terrified of Floki before, he wasn't sure there was a word to describe how much fear the casual way Lagertha was speaking put in him.

« Can I take you out for coffee, though ? » she asked. Then, gesturing towards Floki : « As an apology for their attitude ? »

Athelstan quickly took in the pronoun used, but hesitated before giving an answer to the offer of coffee. On the one hand, he was broke, and could really use the caffeine. On the other hand, _terrified_. But if he refused, he probably wouldn't be able to focus on his work again anyway, so in the end he nodded, and was rewarded with a beaming smile from Lagertha.

« Great ! »

« I'm gonna leave you losers to it, 'kay ? » Floki said, already turning back and waving with one hand. The movement made the sleeve of their shirt that had been hanging just under their shoulder fall back towards their neck. « Have a nice day, Athelstan ! »

The history student could only stare at them as they walked away. Then he felt Lagertha's hand tap his shoulder. « Coffee ? »

He nodded, dumbly, and followed her towards the exit of the library, after having quickly picked up the book he'd been reading and his backpack.

They had barely taken a few steps outside when a voice started shouting Lagertha's name. They both turned around as a man jogged towards them, a huge grin on his face. His hair was shaved on both sides, with the central part tied in a plait that reached his shoulders. « You've got company ? » He asked, looking Athelstan up and down. The young man instinctively tried to make himself smaller under the scrutiny. The light blue of the man's eyes was almost electric, he noticed with a shiver.

« I do, » Lagertha replied. Her voice was warm, somehow reassuring despite the weird situation he was in. « This is Athelstan. I think Floki traumatised him, so I'm taking him for coffee. Wanna join ? »

Athelstan felt like he was being used in some kind of private joke, but it was easier to just go with the flow and not ask questions. He was too tired and confused to protest anyway.

The man in front of them shrugged with an easy smile. « Sure, why not. I'm Ragnar, by the way, » he said, extanding a hand just like Lagetha had done before. Athelstan repeated his own name and they shook on that. « Sorry you had to meet Floki first, » Ragnar continued. « They can be... a bit intense. »

Athelstan nodded, though he didn't comment on the fact that he was fairly sure Ragnar and Lagertha were definitely capable of the same level of intensity.

They reached the campus' coffee stand. Luckily, since it was the middle of a class period, the queue wasn't too long. Ragnar ordered a caramel latte, Lagertha a capuccino, and Athelstan asked for a small black coffee, but Lagertha immediately told the barista to make it a large one.

They took a seat in the empty cafeteria, since it was still early in the year and too cold to sit outside, and Athelstan thanked Lagertha as he took a gulp of his coffee.

« You're welcome, sweetie, » she replied. Athelstan almost choked at the pet name, but she didn't even seem to notice she had said it. He looked at Ragnar to see how he would react, since she was his girlfriend, but the blond man was frowning at him, thoughts elsewhere.

« Hey, totally random, » Ragnar started, « But you can play the guitar, right ? »

Lagertha seemed to perk up at that, immediately interested, and Athelstan blushed under their combined attention.

« Yeah, well, I play a little. »

« Nah, I saw you, you played for Thyri when she did the open mic thing, right ? »

Athelstan nodded. He had befriended Thiry the year before, when they were both in their first year of uni. Since then he had played with her a few times, mostly to help her practice, though they had done two songs publicly at an open mic night a month before.

« Oh, when she sang Patti Smith ? » Lagertha asked enthusiastically.

Athelstan nodded.

« I thought I recognized you from somewhere ! And don't sell yourself short, from what we saw that night, you're really good. »

« Thanks. » Athelstan blushed again.

When he looked up, Ragnar and Lagertha were exchanging a gaze that lookd like it was a conversation in and of itself. Ragnar shrugged, with a smile that his girlfriend then mirrored. They both turned back towards Athelstan with perfect – and eery – synchronicity.

« Can you play punk ? » Lagerthat asked.

« And metal ? » That was Ragnar.

« And celtic music ? » That was Lagertha again.

The caffeine had woken him up a bit, but in that moment, Athelstan felt as confused as he had been before. « I guess it depends on the song ? I never tried metal because I only have an accoustic and a classical guitar, but I've dabbled in folk punk and played some celtic tunes before ? Why ? »

He had a feeling he was getting into something he had no control over. This should have been frightening, but maybe he had used up all of his fear earlier, because instead it only left him exhilarated. He could feel his heart beat loudly in his chest as Lagertha and Ragnar exchanged another look.

« Do you want to be in a band ? »

 

« You don't have to say yes immediately, » Lagertha had immediately reassured him. « I mean, you should at least hear us play once before you give us any answer. »

« And of course you can change your mind whenever you want, » Ragnar had added. « it's not like we're gonna have you sign a contract or anything. »

Athelstan had agreed to go see one of their rehearsals. After all, he had already taken coffee with them, and if Lagertha had wanted to kill him, she could have done so in the library.

He hadn't quite expected to be invited that very same day, but in the end it was probably a good thing, because knowing himself, Athelstan would probably have been too anxious to go if it had been later in the week.

« When do your classes finish ? » Ragnar asked.

« 6 PM. »

« Okay. We usually start aound five, but you can come in later, that's no issue. » He bent down and rummaged in the messenger bag he had at his feet. He brought out a sheet of paper and a pen. « Here... is my phone number, and the address. Just call me when you're at the door. We don't really hear the bell when we're in the basement, but I'll have my phone on vibrate. Is that okay with you ? »

« Sure, okay. » Athelstan still felt like he was being carried away by strong currents instead of sitting in a cafeteria chair, but he was also becoming more and more intrigued. « Is it your place ? » He pointed at the address.

« Nah, Floki's. Their parents own the building. They and Helga have the ground floor and the basement for themselves, the two other floors are being rented to other people. And we use the basement as rehearsal space. »

« Okay. So... Who's actually in this band ? You two, Floki, Helga... ? »

« Helga doesn't play, » Lagertha replied. « Though she mixes awesome cocktails and has earned an honorary membership in our hearts with them. » She laughed. « But otherwise, I sing, Floki plays the drums, Rollo – that's Ragnar's brother, by the way – plays the bass, and Ragnar is mostly on the violin, though he will play whatever he can get his hands on if you let him. »

The blond man raised his shoulders with a grin that showed he didn't feel one bit guilty. « We've been talking about getting someone to play the guitar for a while now, » he added. « Lagertha does it sometimes, but it's harder for her to focus on her voice if she has to play at the same time. So if you're into it, it could be great to have you around. »

Athelstan felt a bit anxious of what Floki's reaction was going to be if he came to the rehearsal, but curiousity had taken the better of him this time. He promised the couple to see them in a few hours, and said his temporary goodbyes as he quickly walked to his next class.

 

Athelstan stopped in front of the building and considered what to do next. His day had been a mess. A complete destruction of his comforting routine. But it had been exciting to mean new people, and Floki, Ragnar and Lagertha all looked interesting, if all slightly terrifying in their own ways. And, hell, he was a college student. College was about getting out of your comfort zone, right ? Making new experiences ?

Athelstan took a deep breath, and called Ragnar on his cellphone. The man didn't answer though, and Athelstan was about to try again when Lagertha opened the door, a bright smile on her face. « Come on in ! » she said, sounding like a little kid on Christmas. He followed her into a hallway/staircase, and immediately through the door of the ground floor apartment. Inside, she turned to the left towards a steep and narrow wooden staircase and let him to the basement.

He could hear someone playing nonsense on the bass as he carefully walked down the wooden steps. He was feeling more and more certain that the stairs would break down under his weight with each step he took.

« Ta-da ! » Lagertha exclaimed as she showed him the rehearsal space. It was crammed, a complate drum kit as well as several amps taking up most of the place. They had still managed to add a three people couch and two chairs that had apparently been salvaged from scap heaps. The whole place had a quality to it that could only be associated with the feeling of home.

Floki was there, sat behind the drums, still wearing their black long-sleeved shirt that left one of their shoulders uncovered. Ragnar was only wearing a t-shirt above his jeans, which Athelstan completely understood, because the atsmophere of the room was suffocating. The second man, Athelstan assumed, was Rollo. He probably wouldn't have guessed that he was Ragnar's brother. While one of them was blond with clear blue eyes and radiated easy charm, the other had brown hair, dark irises, and greeted Athelstan with only a cold gaze and a vague grunt that could have been either « hello » or « fuck off ».

Lagertha clapped a hand on his back. « Go sit down ! Hopefully we can play you a few songs without messing up too much, and then you can tell us what you think ? »

He nodded and sat down on the couch, then gratefully accepted a water bottle from Ragnar.

« Sticks and Bones first ? » he asked, turning towards the rest of the band.

« Okey-dokey, » replied Floki, picking up his drumsticks.

Lagertha took her place behind a mic, and Ragnar picked up an electric violin already hooked up to an amp. Athelstan didn't really know what he had expected from the music. After all, « punk », « metal » and « celtic » had been the only description he'd had of the band style. He could understand why they had chosen those words, though. While the drum and bass lines were reminiscent of hard punk and early metal, Lagertha's voice leaned more towards symphonic metal. He was surprised when Floki was the one to take on the backup voices during the chorus. Then there was Ragnar on the violin. He was the one bringing in the more celtic vibe, his instrument adding to the melody as much if not more than Lagertha's singing.

They ended that song and quickly moved on to another.

All in all, the music was as confusing as Athelstan's day had been, and in that it was perfect. The melodies were fairly simple, though the interferences between the two melodic lines definitely gave them something special. And at least all band members seemed fairly confident in what they were playing. He could understand why they wanted to add a guitar to their mix. While it already worked fairly well – and the complicity obvious in the looks all members would exchange while they played definitely helped with that – the background beat was only supported by the bass and the drums, which made the interplay of melodic lines come on a bit too strongly at time. Adding a guitar could help balance the whole.

Athelstan wanted to say yes. He liked playing. It had been one of the only things that his parents encouraged when he was a child that he had actually been enthusiastic about, and this past year and a half in college, it had been one of the only remnants of his old life, as well as a way to sometimes escape the pressure of classes. He liked playing, a lot, and he was interested in what this band was doing, genuinely so.

But they already had their distinct style, and Athelstan wasn't sure he would be able to follow it. That, and all the people involved already seemed so _close_ to each other. It wasn't hard to imagine that Athelstan would be the odd one out in their relationship. And sure, Lagertha and Ragnar had both seemed enthusiastic and welcoming ( _frighteningly so_ , Athelstan thought, considering he had only met them a few hours before), but he still didn't know what Floki and Rollo thought of his presence here.

The second song stopped, and Lagertha picked up a bottle of water from the floor.

« Just one more song and we're done. Good ? »

Athelstan nodded. He was glad they weren't asking for his opinion just yet. It would give him some more time to think.

Well, that was what he had thought, but the third song was the fastest one they had played yet, and it ended in less than two minutes on a high-pitched scream from Lagertha.

She ran a hand across her brow and put a few strands of hair that had escaped her ponytail behind her ear. Ragnar carefully unplugged his violin and put it down.

« So ? What do you think ? »

Ragnar and Lagertha were both looking at him with what he could only describe as puppy eyes. Even Floki looked expectant. Rollo was the only one pretending to ignore his presence, but he was probably still listening too.

It was an awful lot of pressure.

« I like it, » he said, completely honest. « You're good. You have your own style and all, it's great. » He tried for a small smile, but wasn't certain he had actually managed it.

« So you're in ? » It was Floki who asked the question from where they were still seated behind their drum kit. Athelstan must have gaped a little, because they added : « Don't look at me like that. We need a guitar, and those two- » He gestured at Ragnar and Lagertha. « told me you're good. »

« I... » Athelstan looked around at the small but cozy rehearsal space. He wanted to say yes. Oh, he wanted to say yes so much. But then what would happen to his routine ? What would happen to his quiet life ? This wasn't only about playing one or two songs with a friend at an open mic night. This would mean rehearsing at least once a week – probably more, because they seemed to be serious about this – with people he barely knew. For what ? A chance to play interesting music ? A chance to get to know those people ?

He shaked his head.

« Yes. I'm in. Well. I'm willing to try. »

Lagertha and Ragnar gave each other a high-five.

« I can't promise anything, though ! I mean, you've barely heard me play. And... Well, I don't want to mess up your dynamic, because you've got this great thing going and... »

« You'll fit in, » Ragnar said. « And if you don't, we'll think of something. That's not just on you, it's on us too. Trust us. It may not look like it, but we've actually thought about this. »

Athelstan wasn't 100% convinced, but well. He had already committed. He was going to try.

 


End file.
